Michelle Parker's mom: 'If she is here, I hope we find her'

But search ends with nothing found

Dive teams searched a murky body of water near South Orange Blossom Trail Wednesday to look for clues in the case of missing Orlando mother Michelle Parker — but came up empty-handed.

The day-long search at Lake Bumby in the Holden Heights neighborhood was prompted by what police labeled a "credible tip" in the case. Detectives have received more than 700 tips since Parker vanished Nov. 17.

The Orange County Sheriff's dive team used a trimaran boat with sonar equipment to scan the bottom of the lake, which is ringed by a shuttered night club, an apartment complex a mobile home park and two businesses. Divers searched several areas but found nothing of evidentiary value, police said.

Early in the day, Parker's family went to the search site to be briefed by police about the effort.

"We have been waiting for clues and tips to see if we can find her," Parker's mother, Yvonne Stewart, said. "It's a double-edge sword. But if she is here, I hope we find her."

Stewart had tears in her eyes as she described her feelings about the search at Lake Bumby.

"It's the worst thing a person can do — take your child away and not tell you where they are," Stewart said, adding that she wants her daughter to come home.

Wednesday's search was the latest in the on-going effort to locate Parker or clues in her disappearance. In the two-and-a-half months since Parker vanished, more than a dozen of searches have been organized by her family and Orlando police.

During one such search, dive team members located Parker's iPhone underwater near the Nela Bridge in Belle Isle. Forensic detectives have been examining the phone to see if it holds any information that could lead police to her.

Parker, now 34, was last seen dropping off her 3-year-old twins with their father Dale Smith II at his home in east Orlando. That same afternoon a pre-taped episode of "The People's Court" aired in which Parker and Smith argued about a $5,000 engagement ring that got lost after she threw it at him during a fight. In May, Smith sued Parker in civil court, about the time the episode was taped.

Police quickly named Smith the primary suspect in her disappearance but have not charged him with any crimes.

The twins, who lived the majority of their short lives with Parker and her parents, have been living with their father since Parker disappeared.

In recent weeks Smith has stopped allowing Stewart to see her grandchildren despite a visitation agreement, she said.

Stewart said she worries about what Smith may be telling the children about their mother and her family. He drove the twins to her home in Geneva recently, but then refused to allow Stewart to see them, she said.

The last time Stewart said she saw the twins they were dirty, but otherwise in good health.

Early in the missing person investigation Florida's Department of Children and Families asked a judge to remove the children from Smith's care because of concerns that he had been violent in front of the children.

Orange Circuit Judge Thomas W. Turner denied the request, despite hearing about Smith's run-ins with the law, former addiction to a hallucinogenic drug, his dishonorable discharge from the military, the completion of a lengthy prison sentence on drug and domestic violence convictions and allegations from Parker's eldest child from a previous relationship that Smith attacked their mother in front of all three children.

Parker's oldest son is now living out-of-state with his father, but has frequent contact with his grandparents, Stewart said.

Parker was last seen wearing jeans, a Florida Gator's sweat shirt and a silver cross necklace. She was driving a Hummer H3 that was found abandoned near the Mall at Millenia a day after she vanished.

Detectives urge anyone with information about Parker's disappearance to call Crimeline at 1-800-423-8477.